Two Black Nashville artists are topping the music charts.
Jimmie Allen and Kane Brown are making their mark on the country music scene. Allen's hit single “Best Shot” recently debuted at No.1 on country radio.
“If someone asked me two years ago if I thought that this would be my life today—that I’d be on the red carpet at the CMAs or my song would be the No. 1 song on country radio, I would have honestly said no,” Allen said in a press statement.
THANK YOU COUNTRY RADIO!!! WOW! "BEST SHOT" IS #1 #Thankful ???????? pic.twitter.com/xPqQMMt3hM
— Jimmie Allen (@JimmieAllen) November 19, 2018
"Best Shot" comes from his debut album Mercury Lane released in October. The 32-year-old singer and songwriter hails from Delaware but calls Nashville home. He now joins fellow country singer Darius Rucker as the only other Black artist in the genre to snag a No. 1 with their debut singles, according to Taste of Country.
As for Brown, the Georgia native's sophomore album, Experiment, debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
The album has pulled in more in an estimated 124,000 units in its first week, reports The New York Times.
???????????????????????????????????????? Thank you fans , country radio, and my whole team that was apart of this ???? pic.twitter.com/eM3x0eqpfM
— Kane Brown (@kanebrown) November 19, 2018
The country music landscape appears to be changing, but the change has not come fast enough for some. Brown wrote in a now-deleted tweet via the Tennessean about the racism he has faced and seen in the country music industry.
“Some people in Nashville who have pub[lishing] deals won’t write with me because I’m Black,” he wrote.
With stars like Rucker at the forefront, country may be heading in a new Blacker direction.
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